Apres Moi
by solroros
Summary: Bella was just trying to hide from Death Eaters, and maybe help her big sister take down Voldemort. You know what they say about that road to perdition - it's paved with good intentions. Bella/Jasper Rated M for language and future naughtiness.
1. Chapter 1

Bella flicked the ash off her cigarette, regarding the quaint cottages of Forks High School with a skeptical eye. Why did adults feel the need to make schools so kitschy?

First there was that lower form school back home in England, Miss Darby's School for Girls. She shuddered at the memory of the doilies that had covered every possible surface. So Umbridge, so awful.

Then Hogwarts, with its rickety boarding school charm – all crooked towers and wandering staircases. The bathrooms were hardly ever in the same place! That was just inconvenient and impractical, like so much of the magic she had learned over the years.

When her sister, Hermione, had sent her into hiding four years ago, Bella had been hopeful her new American school would look normal. Really, Americans were so into new things they had probably destroyed and rebuilt the entirety of Salem three times in the last one hundred years. Oh, how wrong she was. Salem Witches' Academy looked like the Pilgrims had only stepped out for a moment, leaving behind their crumbling brick fireplaces and frumpy clothes.

As a girl who lived in jeans, she loathed the wool skirts forced upon her for years by both magical institutions. Really, the ability to wear Muggle clothing on a day to day basis was Forks' sole advantage over anywhere else in the world.

That, and the fact that she doubted Lucius Malfoy and his pureblood Death Eaters would ever think to look for her in Bumfuck, Washington.

She took another drag of her cigarette. The first day of school was going to be hell, and she wished her mom was here.

Distantly, a bell rang. She sighed and wandlessly vanished her cigarette before exiting her red '98 Ford Ranger (manual, thank you very much). Rain immediately pelted her braided brown hair, causing it to frizz horribly.

Damn but she hated this place.

* * *

A/N: Yeah. Yeah. I know. I'm sorry, this muse wouldn't leave me alone. I'm going to speed through this one – the next like 4 chapters are already written – so watch for regular updates unless I say otherwise. **By Candlelight** and **Invisible Lines** aren't abandoned, their muses are just on holiday. For realsies.


	2. Chapter 2

British Bella

A/N: Story takes place in 2001. Bella is 18, it's everyone's senior year.

* * *

They were staring at her – all of them – with undisguised curiosity. The girls, Lauren and Jessica, ran critical eyes over her long, braided chestnut hair (and its many split ends). They regarded her bitten nails with disdain, noting the dark red color of the chipped polish. They found her hand-me-down 'The Clash' t-shirt, red jeans, and black Chucks to be the opposite of whatever passed for cool in B.F.E.

The boys, Mike and Tyler, were simpler. They checked out her legs and her tits with varying degrees of inconspicuousness.

None of them were impressed until they heard her speak.

"Like, oh my God!"

"Are you from England?"

Bella nodded.

"That is so cool!" Jessica and Lauren squealed simultaneously.

"Do you know the Spice Girls?"

"Do you hate America?"

Lauren rolled her eyes at Jessica. "Jessica, you can't just go around asking people if they hate America. That's, like, against the Constitution."

Bella barely restrained her eye roll.

"As a matter of fact, it's a bit rubbish," Bella said, turning into their classroom and wishing she had time for a cigarette. These damn Muggles were giving her a stress headache with their helpfulness and their judgment.

Instead of inspiring a spirited political debate, or an in-depth discussion of the ongoing political ramifications of the Cold War, all of Bella's newfound friends simply insisted she hadn't yet seen the _right_ parts of America.

"I thought Massachusetts was, like, the cradle of America," Bella said, wondering if they realized she was mocking their speech patterns. She heard someone snicker as the Fatheaded Foursome herded her to a seat in the middle of the room. Maybe someone around here was intelligent, Merlin save her.

"Yeah, but they're all commies out there," Mike said a little too fervently.

"Really, Mike," another girl said from in front of them. "I think you've watched a little too much Fox News down at the store."

Mike sneered at the girl, marring his otherwise boyish good looks.

"At least I don't do everything my jackass boyfriend says, _Angela_."

Angela Weber was vaguely ethnic (Asian and white, possibly?) and the first person who didn't jump at the chance to be friends with the new girl. She simply smiled shyly at Bella before turning around as their teacher walked into the room to start the lesson.

Lauren and Jessica whispered poisonous gossip in Bella's ears during the class, about how Angela used to be their friend before she started dating _Edward Cullen_ , who was, like, totally hot. Way too hot for someone as mousy and studious as Angela.

" _She must be putting out."_

" _She does whatever he says."_

" _They broke up for a while and he skipped town, and she went a little crazy, and now they're like back together and just so disgusting. It's like PDA 24/7."_

Lauren and Jessica weren't exactly the most discreet people, and their whispers must have carried to Angela's ears. But Angela kept her attention toward the front even as her back stiffened. There was really little to pay attention to – the teacher was only going over the syllabus.

Her attentiveness and resolve reminded Bella, suddenly and forcefully, of Hermione.

"Hello," Bella said after English. "I'm Bella Gr-, er, Swan. You're Angela Weber, right?"

Angela glanced around uneasily, avoiding eye contact. Her shy smile was long gone, replaced by wariness.

"Yeah," she said. "Gonna ask me if I'm a slut like they said?"

Bella's eyebrows shot up her forehead.

"Um, no. Wasn't planning on it... unless you have tips you want to share." Angela's eyes met hers, clearly surprised at Bella's response. "Actually, I was wondering if you would be willing to tutor me for the week? I'm a bit behind on Mu- on world lit, you see. I went to a, um, specialized school where literature wasn't exactly top priority-"

"No offense, Bella, but you don't look like someone who cares about their schooling." Angela eyed her outfit, which was admittedly a little too punk rock for Forks.

"And you don't look like a slut, but..." she trailed off, hoping Angela would consider her request.

"I can't," Angela said. "My boyfriend wouldn't like it."

Bella rolled her eyes. She thought Lauren and Jessica's gossip was just that, but apparently she was wrong.

"Then your boyfriend is a dick. See you later, I guess." She walked away, ignoring Angela's indignant huffing and the high-pitched voice asking her what was wrong.

She was going to have that cigarette, even if it made her late for the next class. Not like her grades in this place mattered anyway.

Bella made her way to the locker room entrance at the back of the gym, where a convenient overhang shielded her from the ever-present rain. As she lit up, she reviewed her game plan for the week: ward the house, write to Hermione and the Order, talk to the Quileutes about soul magic, cry herself to sleep missing her mother, cook for dad and try to keep it together in the light of day.

She sighed and snapped her fingers, causing a flame to appear on the end of her thumb – a flame which she used to light her cigarette. On the inhale, she focused on making her breath conform to the standards of meditation. Losing her temper was a bad idea today, or any day, no matter how stupid and sheltered the people around her were.

When she lost her temper, things broke.

Her mother always said-

 _No, not thinking about her. Not today._

The hole in her heart left by her mother's death ached uncomfortably, shortening her breath with the force it put on her lungs. Her mother had been walking back from the store around the corner from the Grangers' apartment in Boston when the Death Eaters caught her. There was no warning. The Confunded Muggles said it was a mugging gone wrong, unable to see the runes of warning carved into Emma Granger's dead flesh.

 _Death_

 _Destruction_

 _Unmaking_

Bella and the local Aurors could read them even if her father and the Muggle ME couldn't, and they had put her in touch with the American Department of Magical Affairs (ADMA). On the advice of the stern-faced Director Allen, Bella and her father had been placed in protective custody, sent to the other end of the country, and given new last names. Her father had found work as an oral surgeon in Forks, serving the local population and the Reservation, when the old surgeon's practice suddenly went up for sale.

Bella shook her head, amazed at the way magicals manipulated the world to suit their needs.

Of course, she'd had some input when deciding on their location. When her sister and Harry Potter and all the rest had defeated Voldemort three years ago, it had been the start of a war instead of the end. Voldemort had been aware of the destruction of his Horcruxes, and had taken precautions should the Prophecy come to pass.

On that warm May day three years ago, Voldemort's snake-like visage had crumbled to ash as his soul sought out and possessed the body of his most closely bound servant: Lucius Malfoy. As the reincarnation of the Dark Lord, Malfoy had waged a bloody and costly war on the magicals of wizarding Britain. The Dark artifacts at his disposal boggled the mind – based on Hermione's notes, Bella shuddered to think what other instruments of torture were hidden in the attic of Malfoy Manor.

Which brought her here, to the woods of western Washington, where a group of Native American witches had successfully soul-bound their shape-shifting men to the land and the tribe.

Bella's mission was to study the magic used by the Quileutes for their "imprinting", tear it down to theory, and see if it would be helpful in the fight against Malfoymort.

It was a long shot, but they were running out of time. Many of the Order were dead or missing, and it seemed like the whole war would come down to the Granger girls, Harry and Ron.

Bella gasped in pain as her cigarette burned down to her fingers – she had been too lost in thought to notice it. With a wave of her hand she made the butt disappear and trudged back into teenage hell.

* * *

After two more classes, it was time for lunch. Bella's nose wrinkled at what passed for food in America's public schools. She thought longingly of the food that graced the tables of Hogwarts the two years she had been there – Hermione pulled her out after her second year, after the events at the Department of Mysteries and the upswing in the war. Fresh salads, warm rolls, crispy fried chicken – these were the things she could have been eating if Voldemort wasn't so hell-bent on world domination.

Lots of things would be different if that megalomaniac had died like he was supposed to back in 1981. Harry would have parents, so would Neville, and Bella would still-

She clamped down on that train of thought, selected a piece of rapidly cooling pizza and superfluous plasticware fork/knife set wrapped in a tissue-thin napkin, and followed Lauren and Jessica to the 'cool senior' table. Mike and Tyler took seats on either side of her, Tyler casually draping an arm over the back of her chair while Mike leaned forward over his splayed legs.

"So, Bella," Mike said in what he clearly thought was a seductive voice. "Is it true what they say about British chicks?"

"I don't know Mike," Bella said in a warning tone of voice. "What do they say about British _chicks_?"

He really was oblivious.

"That they give great-"

She picked up her plastic knife and positioned it right over his junk.

"You don't want to finish that sentence, boyo," she said. Mike's eyes widened while Tyler chuckled.

"You're feisty," Tyler said, inching his hand closer to her shoulder. "I like that."

Bella smiled coldly.

"Trust me, you probably don't." He gulped and removed his arm from the back of the chair. Mike turned to face the table, and both looked more than a little terrified of her.

Good, she didn't have time to deal with stupid boys.

"So," she asked Jessica and Lauren, who were seated across from her and watching with a kind of horrified hopefulness as she shot down the two hottest available guys in their class, "anyone else I should know?"

Jessica smiled like a happy Golden Retriever before leaning forward. "Don't look too quickly, but Alice and Edward Cullen are at the table behind you and to the right." Bella glanced over and saw a heavy-set kid with a bad case of acne sitting next to a skinny, greasy-haired girl. She raised an eyebrow.

"That's the guy that's controlling Angela?"

"Oh shit, no, sorry. My right, your left."

"Idiot," Lauren muttered under her breath and Bella looked over her left shoulder as casually as possible.

Oh.

Oh dear.

Angela Weber was dating a vampire.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

A/N: To Mari So Lovely, no this isn't going to be an Edward/Bella story. Really. Promise.

* * *

"Isn't he _gorgeous_?" Lauren whispered. Bella nodded her head as she met the golden eyes of Edward Cullen across the lunch room.

A laserbeam of Legilmency skittered across her Occlumency shields, and Bella inhaled sharply. She shored up the cracks (of which there were few) and glared at him. His eyes widened and the pixie-like vampire next to him looked up quickly, alarm written across her dainty features.

The pressure on her shields increased.

How dare he? An unprovoked Legilimency attack in the middle of a cafeteria?

She was right in her earlier, sight-unseen assessment; he _was_ a dick.

"Yeah, so like, they were all adopted by this smoking hot doctor and his wife, and, like, four of them are together, if you know what I mean."

Bella slowly turned around to face Jessica, succeeding in keeping the alarm and indignation off her face.

"Isn't that incest?" she asked dryly. She hoped he was listening, dick.

The Americans chuckled. "They're adopted! They're not all related by blood," Lauren clarified. "The tiny one, sitting next to Edward? That's Alice. She's Edward's twin sister. She dresses really fierce and is dating Jasper, this blonde with just like the _best_ Southern accent. He graduated last year, along with his twin sister Rosalie and Emmett."

"They're also together," Jessica added.

Bella gagged, hamming it up as her classmates laughed. "Sounds like one big happy family," she said, taking a bite of her cold and greasy pizza to hide the concentration she was putting into maintaining her shields. Edward was still hammering away at them, though she thought he could probably hear what they were saying anyway.

"A family I'd love to join," Mike said, resuming that so-not-sultry tone of voice. "Imagine the slumber parties-"

He was cut off when Jessica threw a baby carrot at him. "Perv!" she squealed, clearly not as disgusted as she pretended to be. They all laughed, even Bella. She cast another glance over at the Cullens and found Edward frowning at her. She turned back around, ignoring him until she knew what to do about the _freaking vampires_ at her all-American high school.

* * *

The next class was a free period for Bella while everyone else had gym (thank goodness for the Confundus Charm), so Bella made her way to the library. There, she found a seat in the back and pulled out her journal.

It was the size of a paperback novel and about as thick, with a battered purple leather cover and the runes for 'message' and 'familial love' imprinted on the front. Hermione's was identical, except it was Gryffindor red. The journal warmed in Bella's hand, and she flipped to the next blank page where her sister's handwriting greeted her.

 _ **How's your first day going?**_

 _Not so great_ , Bella wrote back. _The people are idiotic, the classes are boring, and there's two vampires here masquerading as students._

 _ **Red eyes or gold?**_

 _Only you would ask that. Aren't you supposed to be freaking out over my safety or something? Gold, of course._

 _ **You know I care deeply about your safety, Bells, why else would I send you to that gods-forsaken continent? What's the big deal? Vampires have just as much right to an education as any other magical being.**_

 _Not when they're dating a freaking human!_

 _ **Oh. Oh dear.**_

 _My reaction exactly. And he's not even sweet like vampires can be in stories, you know? He's controlling what this girl Angela does and who she sees._

 _ **Bella**_

She cut her sister off before she could tell her to not get involved.

 _I have to help her, Mione._

 _ **Help who?**_

 _The girl he's dating, Angela. She seems like the only decent person I've met so far, but she was all weirdly defensive of how controlling he is. Do you think he's using vampire mojo on her?_

 _ **If you're going to speculate, use the correct word. It's 'thrall'.**_

 _Swot._

 _ **Takes one to know one. And maybe? I'm not sure how diet affects vampire abilities.**_

 _Something for you to research then._

 _ **I have enough to worry about, and so do you. Help her if the opportunity arises but don't forget why you're there in the first place.**_

 _I know, but the one she's dating is a fucking Legilimens._ _He tried to get into my mind when I saw him across the cafeteria. It really threw me off._

 _ **Language. Really? I didn't realize there were gifted vampires outside Volterra. Aro made it sound like he keeps a pretty tight leash on them.**_

 _Maybe. Why were you talking to the King of the Vampires anyway?_

 _ **Order business. Can't talk here, but let's just say that between Snape's notes and my own tinkering, I might have found a way to get the vampires on our side. At least, the one's that don't want to be vampires anymore when this war is over.**_

It's official, her sister was a genius.

 _Are you saying what I think you're saying?_

 _ **Well technically I'm writing it**_

 _Hermione Jane_

 _ **But yes.**_

 _You're brilliant._

 _ **I knew you would appreciate it! Harry and Ronald haven't exactly been supportive of my late night potioneering.**_

 _Boys._

 _ **Tell me about it. Though they might have a point – the cellar hasn't been the same since my last experiment. Back to this vampire Legilimens, did he see anything?**_

 _No, he didn't get past my shields. But it was just rude, you know? Eye contact with a stranger, time to read their bloody mind!_

 _ **Hm, maybe he doesn't know that other people can read minds?**_

 _What do you mean?_

 _ **Remember that vampire that visited my DADA class in third year, the year I had Remus as a professor?**_

 _What was his name? Charles, Carlton_

 _ **Carlisle! No last name, very Madonna. Anyway, he said that there were some covens who had no knowledge of magic or how vampires came to be. Maybe this one is one of those?**_

 _His name is Edward._

 _ **Well you didn't say**_

 _I know, just didn't want you to confuse yourself with any more long sentences. And maybe. He certainly seemed shocked that I kept him out of my mind._

 _ **You did wonderfully.**_

 _Wish you were here._

 _ **Me too.**_

Talking to Hermione calmed Bella down a bit, helped her regain her focus. Hermione agreed with Bella's decision to hold off warding the house until Friday, as the wards she planned on using would drain her for a least the weekend, but recommended she get in touch with the Quileutes as soon as possible.

When the bell rang, Bella dragged herself to her next class, Biology, where she was in for an unpleasant surprise.

Mike, Tyler, Jessica, and Lauren were all there and already paired up.

In fact everyone had a partner.

Except for Edward Cullen.

 _Bugger._

Bella introduced herself to the teacher, the unfortunately named Mr. Banner, and made her way over to the sulky-looking vampire. To her great surprise, he turned a charming smile on her. With the gold eyes and the good hair and the nice clothes, it was enough to dazzle Bella for a moment.

"Hello, I'm Edward Cullen," he said, holding his hand out to shake hers.

"Bella Swan," she replied, taking the offered hand and stifling her gasp at its coldness. The dazzle was effectively derailed.

She took her seat and pulled out a notebook and pen, lining them up exactly next to each other. Her mother had always said-

"You're from England," he stated, interrupting the morbid turn of her thoughts.

"Yep," she replied shortly.

"What brings you to Forks?" he asked.

"The shopping," she replied flippantly as Mr. Banner signaled for the class to start. Edward leaned in a bit to whisper close to her ear. The pleasant scent of vampire rolled over her senses, threatening to dazzle her again.

Bella immediately began reciting the twelve uses of dragons blood to keep her head.

"You know, my sister loves to go shopping, maybe you two could-"

"I was being sarcastic," Bella said, dazzle successfully averted and more than a bit annoyed. Who did this asshat think he was? "Why I'm here is none of your goddamn business. Now please be quiet, I'm trying to pay attention."

He sat back, shocked, and left her alone for the rest of the class.

When the bell rang for dismissal, they stood at the same time.

"Bella, I apologize if I've offended you," he said, grabbing her arm as she made to leave. She glanced over her shoulder at him, specifically down at the restraining hand.

"That is the third time today a man has laid a hand on me without my express permission," she growled. "If you don't let me go in five seconds, you will find out what happens when I lose my damn temper."

Edward smiled before letting go of her arm. She walked away from him, hoping he would get the hint and leave her alone.

She had forgotten that vampires are hunters by nature, and very persistent.

"My apologies. I only wanted to say I was sorry, and that we seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot," he said as he followed her out into the hall.

Bella snorted. "Funnily enough, I don't really give a rat's arse if you're sorry or not."

"Bella, please-"

She reached her locker and spun the attached combo lock haphazardly. She'd already put a locking charm on it, so with a silent command she released the wards. He kept talking while she put her schoolbooks away, only keeping the two that she needed to complete her homework that evening, but she tuned him out.

"You know, for someone who's so _perfect_ you do seem to be bad at taking hints," Bella said as she slammed her locker shut. There was that shocked look again. He reminded her of Hermione's stories about Draco Malfoy – clearly he wasn't used to rejection or just the word 'no'.

"Listen carefully: I. Don't. Care. It's nice for you that you're sorry or whatever, but I have no desire to know you or your sister or anyone else in your weird pervy _family_. Stay out of my way, and I'll stay out of yours. Are we clear?"

"Bella-"

She had never hated the Statute of Secrecy so much in her life. All she wanted to do was shove her wand against this jackass's throat.

"Are we clear?" she asked again, enunciating each word. He sighed heavily.

"For now," he said, looking at her with a strange mix of sorrow and ruefulness.

"Well, fuck you very much," she said as she slammed her locker shut and stomped away. She didn't have time for this – she needed to get home, cook dinner, and review a few of her ward books in preparation for Friday night.

"Nice talking to you," Edward called after her. She flipped him the bird.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Bella meets Jasper. Be excited. This is a weirdly musical chapter, don't really know why but enjoy the slices of my writing playlist that feature here.

There was a Broadway revival of "Into the Woods" in 2002. Mrs. Granger just missed it.

* * *

Thursday dawned rainy and wet, like every other day in Forks. Bella regarded the world outside her bedroom window resignedly before pulling on her rattiest running clothes. Her father, Chuck or 'Charlie' as he had to be known in Forks, was still asleep, his closed bedroom door not thick enough to muffle the rhythmic snoring within.

 _At least he's sleeping again_ , she thought as she poured herself a glass of water in the kitchen. _Mum's death was hardest on him._

When she finished her water, the rain outside ceased for a bit. Morning mist clung to the house and the small clearing around it, but Bella was optimistic that she would return home partially dry.

The green leaves of the forest slapped at her arms as she ran down the almost-kind-of-a-trail that led from her back door and into the woods.

She grinned ruefully.

"Into the Woods" had been one of her mother's favorite musicals. Though the story was rather dark, Jeanette Granger (Jean, to her friends) had loved singing the songs to her daughters. They had always talked about going to see it if there was ever a revival in a professional theater. A few days before she was killed, Jean had been telling Bella that there were rumors of a production being put on in New York next year.

Despite her best attempts over the last few days to shut away thoughts of her mother, everything reminded Bella of her. Here, alone in the woods, she could relax her Occlumency shields and let her real thoughts and feelings surface; let them breathe before they were submersed once more.

She breathed deeply, allowing the sadness to rise above the careful retaining wall of snark and logic. Grief overwhelmed her, and she staggered beneath the weight of it.

She reached a glade, gasping and sobbing, and took a seat on a fallen tree. The green moss covering it softened the rough bark, but she barely noticed.

She missed her mother.

She missed Hermione.

She missed England.

She missed... the way her life was supposed to be.

Time had no meaning in that glade, though it could have been measured by the falling of her tears or the rhythm of her sobs. In the end, she was wrung out like a washcloth. No tears or sobs remained, though the aching part of her that would always miss her mother still pulled the rest of her heart with its ponderous gravity.

With a deep cleansing breath, she started to push the grief back down. It weighed as much as a boulder, she should be able to sink it in the murky sea of her Occluded mind. She closed her eyes to concentrate better, shutting out the green forest around her.

After all, there was nothing out here.

It took a solid fifteen minutes of concentrated effort before she felt calm again. She opened her eyes and was surprised to see weak fingers of sunlight threading through the canopy.

Had she been a more fanciful sort, she would have concluded her mother was reaching down to her from heaven. Had she been in a more rational state of mind, she would have rejoiced that sunlight meant no vampires nearby.

Unfortunately, Bella was defined by her dark and whimsical sense of humor. Tickled by the odd synchronicity of the dreary woods changing with her tears, she started singing in a quiet, but sweet voice.

" _The way is clear,_

 _The light is good,_

 _I have no fear,_

 _Nor no one should._

 _The woods are just trees,_

 _The trees are just wood,_

 _No need to be afraid there-"_

As if on cue, a branch snapped loudly off to her right. Instinct took over. Bella halted her feet and her voice, whirling around with her wand unsheathed. She waited a minute, breathing heavily and fighting the urge to ask who was there. Nothing moved in the greenness, and Bella took a step forward. There was a rustling sound, one the gradually receded before it was gone. She sighed and looked down at her watch. She'd been out here for an hour.

" _And home before dark_ ," she sang under her breath.

* * *

She showered when she got back home, and made breakfast. Her father dragged himself out of bed about thirty minutes before he needed to be at work – it was a twenty minute drive – so she made his eggs, bacon and toast into a sandwich.

"Thanks, pumpkin," he said, coming downstairs with his hair still wet. His dark blue checkered tie, untied and rumpled, hung from his throat.

"Of course, Dad," Bella said, tying his tie for him. "What are daughters for?"

They both stilled, knowing exactly what the Granger daughters were for: fighting mad wizards and getting their mother killed.

"Love you," her dad said, choosing not to open that Pandora's box. He smiled weakly at her before running out the door.

"Love you too," Bella said to the air.

* * *

Thursday was just as interminable as Wednesday, only the day was spent starting actual lessons as opposed to going over lesson plans. Jessica and Lauren were in most of her classes, and she was seriously worried about the durability of her brain cells after being subjected to their gossip for almost eight hours straight. Bella managed to avoid Edward Cullen, and his "twin" Alice, outside of class all day. She still had to sit next to Edward in Biology, but he didn't try to make conversation today. Angela was equally easy to avoid since she was attached to Edward's hip like a barnacle.

Finally, it was time to leave. She made it from her locker to her truck without incident, and decided to have a cigarette before heading out to the Quileute reservation.

She started the engine and flipped on the radio, spinning the dial until she found a good station. One of the few advantages of living in Washington was the radio. Seattle was the home of the grunge revolution, and considered themselves to be ahead of the curve for the next wave of alternative music. Thanks to this forward-thinking attitude, "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" blared as she rummaged through her purse. Her lips turned up in an enigmatic smile. It was nice to hear men sing about wanting women who got shit done, women she looked up to – like her sister, and Tonks, and Minerva McGonagall.

Much better than all the girls her age idolizing Britney Spears, anyway.

She found the half-empty pack of Marlboro Reds at the bottom beneath her backup wand. They were dude smokes her friends in Boston had told her, but she liked the flavor.

She sighed, looking out the window at her classmates standing around their cars and trying to ignore the ever-present drizzle. Jessica and Lauren were with Tyler and Mike, naturally, by a boringly blue van. Angela was over next to Edward (no mistaking that bronze hair), the little pixie vamp, and a blonde guy who Bella assumed was another Cullen. Behind them were some ridiculously overpriced cars that stood out like nuggets of gold in a pile of shit.

" _-With fingernails that shine like justice_

 _And a voice that is dark like tinted glass-"_

Bella snorted while she glanced at her own nails: as groomed as she could manage, while also short enough to prevent potions ingredients from getting stuck underneath.

She was just about to light up when a knock on her window startled her.

"Shit," she breathed, placing her hand over her heart. Angela Weber was outside her window, waving and smiling shyly. Bella smiled weakly back and exited the truck, slinging her purse over one shoulder.

"Hi," Angela said.

"Hello," Bella replied, lighting up. Angela looked like she expected her to say more, but Bella simply took a drag and blew out the resultant smoke.

She wasn't a total bitch though – her exhale was in the opposite direction from Angela, and downwind. She liked the way the smoke mingled with the rain.

"So how did you like your second day at Forks High?" Angela asked.

"It was alright," she shrugged. She raised an eyebrow. Angela averted her eyes, an awkward blush blooming on her cheeks.

"I wanted to talk about yesterday. I, um, was a bit hasty in saying I couldn't tutor you. And I wanted to say that I actually can!"

"Really?" Bella drawled, taking another drag. "This wouldn't have anything to do with a conversation I had with a certain douchebag boyfriend yesterday?"

Angela's blush deepened. "We thought it might be good for me to tutor you. I mean, _I_ think it might be a good thing for me to tutor you."

"Uh huh," Bella said. She took another drag, her eyes flicking across the parking lot. The blonde vamp was watching her, a confused look on his face. On impulse, Bella winked at him before quickly looking back at Angela.

"So, are you still interested?" Angela asked.

"Sure," Bella said.

"Great! We can get started tonight, if you want to come over to the Cullens'-"

"I can't tonight," Bella said. "I have stuff to do."

"Well, maybe this weekend-"

"Not til Sunday," Bella said. Angela looked taken aback. "I have plans. Also, why the Cullens'? Can't we go to your house?"

"Well, um-"

"Or is this whole thing a giant ruse to get me to come over to the Cullens' so Edward can cross-examine me about shit that is none of his business again?"

"Um-"

Bella snorted and stamped out her cigarette beneath the toe of her black Chucks. She leaned in close to Angela and lowered her voice so that the obviously listening vampires would have to strain to continue eavesdropping.

"Guys don't like doormats, Angela. At least the good ones don't. What does that say about Edward, huh?"

Angela leaned back, her nostrils flaring.

"You don't know anything about him."

 _I know he's a Legilimens._

 _I know he's probably older than he looks._

 _I know he's probably got you in his thrall._

 _I know that it's none of my business._

 _Damn it._

"I know enough," Bella said. "But I'm sure _you_ know what you're doing."

Angela glared at her and was just about to open her mouth, with what was sure to be a _dazzling_ retort, when the cavalry arrived.

"Everything alright over here?" Edward said, placing a proprietary arm around Angela's shoulders. He sent Bella a disarming smile, but she was unmoved.

"Just fine, dickhead," she said with a sweet smile. Angela's frown deepened and the little pixie vamp was practically vibrating with anger. Edward's smile froze on his face.

"Well that's just not friendly at all," the blonde vamp said, a quaver of laughter escaping in his voice. His Southern-accented honeyed voice that went nicely with his golden hair and gold eyes. He was actually quite handsome, she thought, and not just in that sculpted beauty way all vampires had going for them. There was a vulnerability in his eyes, and a smirk dancing around his lips, that Bella found quite appealing.

Or she would have, if he weren't a vampire and also dating his 'sister'.

Major ew.

"You must be Jasper," Bella said.

"I am," he said. "Jasper Hale. I've heard plenty about you, Bella." He held out his hand. She didn't take it.

"Only good things, I hope?" she said, glaring at Edward.

"Depends on who you ask," he replied, dropping his hand.

They stood there awkwardly for a moment before Bella decided she had had enough.

"Well, this has been fun and all-" Bella said, turning to leave.

"Sunday?" Angela called after her.

"Yeah, fine, whatever. Call me," Bella replied.

As she drove off through the rain, she glanced in her rear-view mirror. Edward and Angela were bickering, Alice was joining in, and Jasper?

Jasper was laughing.


End file.
